to a study led by a University of
Rochester neuropsychologist. The
researchers measured the cognitive
skills, estrogen levels and menopause-related symptoms, such as hot
flashes and sleep disturbance, in 117
women. Women in the early stage of
postmenopause performed worse on
measures of verbal learning, verbal
memory and fine-motor skill than did
women in menopause’s later stages.
The researchers also found that self-reported sleep difficulties, depression
and anxiety did not predict memory
problems, suggesting that cognitive
declines brought on by menopause
are independent processes rather than
a consequence of sleep disruption or
depression. (Menopause, online Jan. 2)

n Women’s use of anti-depressants
during pregnancy is not linked
with an increased risk of stillbirth
or infant death, finds a study
conducted at the Karolinska Institute
in Stockholm, Sweden. Researchers
examined data from more than 1. 6
million births — including nearly
30,000 women who had taken a
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
during pregnancy. They found no
significant association between use of
these medications during pregnancy
and the risk of stillbirth or infant
death, even after accounting for
maternal psychiatric disease and
other factors. (Journal of the American
Medical Association, Jan. 2)

n Infants raised in a bad economymay be at greater risk for substanceuse and delinquent behavior duringadolescence, according to a study byscientists at State University of NewYork Upstate Medical University.The researchers analyzed data onnearly 9,000 born from Jan. 1, 1980,through Dec. 31, 1984 to examinethe relationship between the highunemployment rates and subsequentrates of substance use and delinquentbehaviors among adolescents. Theyfound that 1-year-old children duringthis time frame who lived in anenvironment with an unemploymentrate that was 1 percent or more higherthan the mean regional unemploymentrates had a higher chance of usingmarijuana ( 9 percent more), smoking( 7 percent), using alcohol ( 6 percent),getting arrested (17 percent), beingaffiliated with a gang ( 9 percent) andcommitting petty theft ( 6 percent)and major theft ( 11 percent) duringadolescence. (Archives of GeneralPsychiatry, online Dec. 31)

n People appear to be more likely
to reciprocate greed, not generosity,
finds a study led by a psychologist
at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. In five experiments
involving divisions of money or work,
participants who were the recipients
of an act of generosity didn’t pay
generosity forward any more than
those who had been treated equally. But
participants who had been the victims
of greed were more likely to be greedy
to a future recipient, creating a negative
chain reaction. (Journal of Experimental
Psychology: General, online Dec. 17)

n The negative effects of playingviolent video games may accumulateover time and lead to increasesin aggressive behavior, suggests astudy conducted at The Ohio StateUniversity. Researchers assigned 70French university students to playa violent or nonviolent video gamefor 20 minutes on three consecutivedays. The students who played theviolent video game showed increases inaggressive behavior and expected to bethe recipient of hostility and aggressionfrom others each day they played,whereas those who played nonviolentgames showed no meaningful changesin aggression or hostile expectations.(Journal of Experimental SocialPsychology, March)

n Toddlers with more developed
language skills may be better able
to manage frustration by the time
they’re in preschool, finds a study with
120 children ages 18 to 48 months led
by Pennsylvania State University. In
one lab-based task, children were asked
to wait eight minutes before opening
a gift. The researchers found that the
children who had better language
skills as toddlers and whose language
developed more quickly expressed less
anger at age 4 than their peers whose
toddler language skills weren’t as good.
Children whose language developed
more quickly also were better able to
occupy themselves at age 4, which in
turn helped them tolerate the wait.
(Child Development, online Dec. 20)

—AMY NOVOTNEY

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journal articles, click on
the journal names.